The game of Keno was brought in the late 1800s to the U.S. by immigrants from China. To play Keno then, you needed to understand some Chinese because it was originally played with eighty Chinese characters. It was eventually replaced by Arabic numerals.
For a while in Nevada, the numbers included racehorse’s name. It was known then as racehorse Keno. By 1951, the name of the horses was removed when taxes were levied on off-track betting. Keno operators did not want their game associated with horserace betting.
How to Play
To play Keno, the player marks one up to twenty numbers on a card with eighty numbers, arranged in an eight by ten grid. The card is taken by the player to a keno writer and places a bet. After twenty numbers are drawn, tickets that won are paid according to the casino table. Paybacks for keno ranges from seventy percent and below to more than eighty percent.
To play keno the player should learn the different types of betting.
The straight ticket is a bet on the numbers marked as a single wager. Although, many players wager on combination bet that groups numbers together. This is called the way ticket. Another way to play keno is to circle one number as king. This number is used in combination with the other grouped number. The combination ticket is played by marking several number groups and playing them in combination.
Another thing player’s love when they play keno is the progressive jackpot. This is available for higher-number totals, or for bigger wagers, most casino offer progressive jackpots to patrons who play keno. The jackpot would at times be large enough such that the casino is actually a 100% payback. In the mid 1990s, the progressive jackpot on a $2 eight-spot ticket exceeded $200,000 in a Nevada casino.
The payback in keno is too sporadic for the game to be played seriously. A couple of games over lunch or breakfast in the casino coffee lounge or relaxing in the keno lounges is usually enough for most people. Patrons on a shoe string budget may on occasion stay on the keno lounge, sipping the free drinks and playing a dollar at a time can spend the day cheaply.
Then again there are players serious enough to casino hop, so for them comparing pay tables and playing at the casino that gives the most for the number of spots that the player selects. As far as the number goes, it’s really up to the player.
An alternative to the live keno game is its digital version. Which basically plays the same way, touch the screen to select your numbers and surprisingly the video keno has a pay table that is better when you play keno live. It also has eighty numbers to choose from. Keno machines has a nickel level but quarter and dollar levels are available.
Regardless of how you play keno, it has been a casino constant since being introduced to the United States more than a century ago.
This article was written by Alexis.
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